Force yourself under

You plunge into the depths, fighting hard against the strange buoyancy of that silvery oil. As you push further down, you see a dark shape moving near the floor of the lake.

It darts up after you, but the oil shoots you up to the surface even faster. The breeze and calm water almost convince you it stopped its chase.

A moment later, a tentacle wraps itself around your ankle and a massive creature pushes itself out of the water to look down at you. It reminds you of a squid, but there's no way anything that large could live unnoticed in the lake, even this far from shore.

Your thoughts are interrupted as the massive beast pulls you towards its beaked maw.

Contemplate the lake

You take advantage of your newfound lightness to walk among the waves and gaze into the lake's depths. At first, you watch the fascinating civilization waiting beneath the waves.

But slowly, your view expands, taking in the fish and plants, even the tiny ripples driven off your feet by the waves. You're not sure how long you've been standing here, but the mysterious buoyancy starts to give way. You carefully make your way back to shore.

Contemplate the oil

Although the waves are surely interesting, you decide to spend some time investigating the silvery substance holding you above them. After performing several minutes of testing your various hypotheses, all you can say for certain is that the oil holds you at the surface of the water as though you're standing on spongy ground.

You could pretend it has something to do with surface tension, but you're fairly sure that'd be nothing more than a rationalization. Having accepted it doesn't make any sense, you feel a little better heading back to the shore.

Somewhere in the distance, you can hear a strange chord of music you hadn't dared listen to before.

Watch the horizon

You use your newfound lightness to head out among the waves, exploring the distant corners of the lake. The desolation seems endless. Patches uncovered by toxic waste are perfectly clear because little can grow in the water.

You manage to reach an edge, though, as your strange buoyancy begins to ebb. The water is murkier, with a few strands of seaweed growing up through it. You can even see schools of fish darting beneath the surface.